AMSTERDAM – “My name is Harry and it’s an absolute pleasure to be here.”
Harry Stylesintroduced himself to the sold-out crowd, admitting the night before this kickoff concert he had “that feeling you get like no one is coming to your birthday party.” He spent the next couple of hours showing why he is one of the most loveable pop stars currently doing things, like, oh,breaking ticket sales records(450,000 over his 10-show run in Amsterdam) and topping pop charts worldwide.
His sincerity is real, his appreciation – for his fans, his band, his crew – is frequently spoken and his music is a continuousChoose Your Own Adventuregame.
With four solo albums on his resume since the yesteryear of One Direction, Styles, 32, has more hits – and new material from his rave-a-liscious“Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally”album – to fit into a two-hour show.
There was no “Late Night Talking” or “Lights Up” or “Satellite” at Johan Cruijff ArenA May 16, with 50,000 fans – and a handful of international journalists invited to opening night – reveling in the onset of his Together, Together tour that willplay 67 showsin seven cities worldwide (30 dates at Madison Square Garden in New York starting in August is his own U.S. appearance).
But there was a spectacular “Music for a Sushi Restaurant,” a late-show throwback to his first solo hit, the beautifully woozy “Sign of the Times,” and even an appearance of the tender “Matilda” in the encore.
More:All the songs on Harry Styles' Together Together tour
Harry Styles' stage is a pop playground
Styles’ laudable core band – anchored by his longtime drummer, theindefatigable Sarah Jones, who makes tricky beats look simple – was augmented by strings and horns on several tracks, a testament to his ambitious musical aspirations.
While Styles’ electro-pop almost always satisfies, the most awe-inspiring aspect of this production is the massive stage, flanked by two oversized video screens and centered by a metallic structure that looks like an inverted ski jump. But it’s three ramps and bridges extending the length of a football field and frequently alight in a Candyland of colors, that provided Styles with his pop playground.
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The visual allure was complemented by Styles’ bringing the sometimes-monotonous songs on “KATTDO” to life, especially during a loose-limbed dance breakdown with his band surrounding him during “Ready, Steady, Go!”
Throughoutthe 21-song set, which included the introduction of a swooshy synth instrumental called “Italian Girls,” Styles embodied the togetherness that inspired the tour name.
“Be open to people – your friends, strangers, people close to you or far away,” Styles said. “People who deserve our love and respect … live and exist with your integrity and respect for one another.”
The adoring fans who crammed the floor, some sporting pink hair or dress shirts and ties in tribute to Styles’ onstage attire, looked like a sea ofWhac-a-Molesas they bounced through new songs (“Pop”) and well-worn favorites (“Watermelon Sugar”) alike.
Harry Styles is an effusive ringleader
It wasn’t difficult to get swept into Styles’ glee as ringleader as he sashayed with his ballroom-meets-Bee Gees dance moves, offered clasped hands in thanks toward the audience and, for his final victory lap, traversed every ramp during“As It Was,”arms outstretched as if bursting through the finish line of one of his marathons.
Whether dabbling with a sequencer during the drum ‘n’ bass clamoring of “Season 2 Weight Loss” – the epitome of “KATTDO”’s ethos to feel, not think – or sitting behind a keyboard as strings plucked beside him for the dreamy “Coming Up Roses” (has Styles written a better lyric than "let’s go hangover chasing"?), the charismatic singer was locked in a musical embrace with his fans.
As he reflected on the period of his life that inspired the detour into electronic music on his current release, Styles was clear.
“When I made this album, its purpose was about listening to music and experiencing music with strangers, with your friends, with people,” he said. “Thank you for being a part of it.”
It was another heartfelt statement delivered with warmth and humility from pop’s Prince Charming.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Harry Styles romps through a pop playground on Together Together tour